"Fall-out benefits"
SOM wins the
National Museum of the United States Army. Oh yeah, that's a beaut. Childs and Duffy are on TOP of their game.
Some cartoonish quotes:
"There was a lot of talk around the office," said James Polshek, the architect of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark. "We wondered if we were too peacenik for the job." In the end, he and his colleagues decided they liked the way the program was conceived, though he declined to discuss the plan they submitted.
Rafael Viñoly was also sensitive to the project's complexities. "By taking a literal approach, it could so easily fall into a Disneyland concept,'' he said. "We chose to elevate the whole undertaking above the level of spectacle and avoid the hokey by employing pure technology." His proposal included a retractable roof that would have transformed almost the entire museum into an indoor-outdoor parade ground or stadium.
The winning design team, led by David Childs, the senior design partner, and Roger Duffy, a partner, had their own internal debate. "When we first heard about the project," said Mr. Childs, who was raised a Quaker, "we weren't sure about its purpose. We were very pleased to learn they didn't want something celebrating war by way of recruitment. It wasn't to be all about chest beating and 'Look how powerful we are,' but a true museum with honest research and nothing glossed over."
Ok, fine. Now what about the museum?
The museum's interiors will involve very little of the somber procession through musty halls that people associate with display-case history. Instead, they will offer what is being described as "fully immersive environments." In one wing, called "the grenade" in an earlier rendering, a 4-D simulator will allow visitors to experience for themselves the kidney-splitting ride of a jeep dashing through a battleground. (Whether that comes closer to the general's jaunty ride in the Bing Crosby classic "White Christmas" or a surreal trip through "Apocalypse Now" remains to be seen.) Historic interpreters - actors, actually - will roam freely through the exhibitions or perform re-enactments based on excerpts from letters, news clips and diaries in a 400-seat open-air amphitheater.
Universal Studios is a consultant to the project. Wheeeeee. This project spawns so many diverse rants in me, I don't know where to begin. Best I just leave you with the facts.
The museum is not designed to encourage recruitment, [the director of Army museums] added, although "it might have a fall-out with benefits for the Army."
* Ray, 10/11/2004 10:44:06 PM
